TRENTON — All 15 fraud-related charges have been dropped against former city union president Dave Tallone after the case against him fell apart due to the absence of a key witness, the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office said.

Tallone was charged with impersonation and forgery nearly 22 months ago after he allegedly used his sister’s name to obtain $51,000 worth of catering contracts with Trenton over four years. As an employee of the Public Works department in Trenton, he is prohibited from contracting with the city he works for.

The prosecutor’s office had named Tallone’s sister as their key witness, but found the Las Vegas resident could not make it to the trial.

“At this point, her health problems would make it unlikely she could travel to New Jersey,” Casey DeBlasio, a spokeswoman for the prosecutor’s office, said yesterday.

Despite Prosecutor Joseph Bocchini Jr. saying Tallone’s charges in Nov. 2011 were part of an “ongoing investigation involving the city,” Tallone said he was never interviewed by anyone from the prosecutor’s office.

Tallone, former president of AFSCME Local 2286 and president of the City of Trenton Employees Credit Union, said he had turned down any plea offers because they would have meant losing his pension. The indictment against Tallone was dismissed on all counts on June 18, just one week after he was scheduled to go to trial.

“I’m happy with the outcome; I’m back to work,” Tallone said last night.

John Maziarz, Tallone’s attorney, said he had never heard of the lowest bidder in municipal work being criminally charged.

“The city got the best possible work that could be done at the best possible price,” Maziarz said.

Suspended without pay for over a year in the wake of his Feb. 2012 indictment, Tallone often went to City Hall during workdays, he said, out of habit. After the indictment was dropped, the city gave him his job back and he says he’s happy working.

“I really don’t want to make a big deal out of it,” Tallone said.

Tallone may retire in the near future, but for now wants the back pay he is entitled to.
“The state of New Jersey says if you dismiss all charges you should get your back pay back, and the city’s not moving on it,” Tallone said.

Under his sister’s name, Tallone catered for events like the city litter marches, which the prosecutor’s office charged was a violation of state law. In the past, Tallone had also provided food for the campaigns of both former Mayor Douglas Palmer and Mayor Tony Mack, records filed with the state Election Law Enforcement Commission show. Tallone is listed as providing lunches on Election Day for campaign workers of then-candidate Tony Mack in June 2010 for $1,600 from Mack’s campaign account. He also provided food on two back-to-back days prior to Palmer’s re-election in May 2002, for which he received $5,500.

Last year, Tallone’s name appeared on a preliminary government witness list for the upcoming federal trial of the mayor on the corruption charges.
Contact Alex Zdan at azdan@njtimes.com or (609) 989-5705.